Wednesday Closures:
The Greater Victoria, Sooke, Saanich, and Cowichan Valley School Districts have cancelled classes for Wednesday. Several private schools have also declared a third snow day.
Camosun College (both campuses) is CLOSED
The University of Victoria's campus and Royal Roads University are OPEN.
St. Michaels University School is OPEN.
Cridge Child program is OPEN
Juan de Fuca senior centre in WestShore is CLOSED.
Goldstream Food Bank in the Westshore is closed for a second day.
The Extreme Weather Protocol was activated for the 10th straight night Tuesday. Extra beds have been made available for the homeless.
Road Conditions:
Driving remains difficult on many routes across Greater Victoria and outlying regions due to snow accumulations.
Poor traction continues on many streets, especially approaching intersections and on corners. Sidewalks remains snow covered and/or slippery. Drive BC has issued travel advisories have been issued for both the TCH from Victoria to Chemainus, and the Patricia Bay Highway, from Victoria to Swartz Bay.
Many side roads are still snow covered.
The Ministry of Transportation is enforcing mandatory chain ups for commercial vehicles travelling on the Malahat. Inspection points were set up earlier at the West Shore Parkway for northbound vehicles, and at Bamberton Hill for vehicles heading south. Commercial vehicles without chains were being turned around.
Bus Problems and Other Trouble
BC Transit stopped bus service is running Wednesday, but warns of delays or cancellations on about 50 routes.
On Monday, Transit confirmed their website crashed. If you can't access it, Transit spokesperson Jonathon Dyck suggests using Google maps or the BC Transit app.
The 17 centimetres of snow that fell at the Victoria International Airport hampered flights on Sunday, caused number of cancellations and delays. Business had resumed at YYJ but the situation may change depending on conditions.
Curbside pick-up
You'll need to let your recyclables build up for another day. Blue box collection has been delayed for a fourth day.
Efforts will be made Wednesday to collect recyclable materials in areas that drivers & workers can access, however, some households will miss collection
A list of depots where recycling can be dropped off for free is available here: crd.bc.ca/bluebox
Districts And Council Meetings Are Affected By The Snow Tuesday
CANCELLED:
Colwood
Langford (Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee meeting)
Metchosin
Sooke
Highlands
Central Saanich (Committee of the Whole meeting)
Saanich
North Saanich
Sidney (Council meeting cancelled – town hall closed at 2pm)
Oak Bay
NOT MEETING, BUT IMPACTED:
Esquimalt – Town Hall closing at 3pm
View Royal meets on Tuesdays, but is closing Town Hall as of 3pm
Meanwhile, recycling collection in the CRD is being affected due to the snow, with some areas having the collection cancelled entirely. Crews will be out collecting in areas that are safe, and if they skip an area they will return tomorrow, or the next clear day. Collection in Jordan River, East Sooke, Otter Point, Kangaroo Road, and Rocky Point Road have been cancelled.
Other Closures
University of Victoria and both Camosun campuses are closed for night classes.
Westhills and Eagle Creek YMCA-YWCA's have closed due to the weather conditions. The Downtown YMCA-YWCA remains open with the exception of the swimming pool
Sprott-Shaw College campus will be close Tuesday due to poor weather conditions.
All 12 branches of the Greater Victoria Public Library have also closed due to the weather.
More Snow Expected
Keep your shovel close, it seems old man winter isn't done with us yet.
Environment Canada issued another snowfall warning for across a wide swath of VI, including Greater Victoria early Monday morning.
Up to five centimetres of snow is expected this afternoon. Another 20 centimetres could fall before Tuesday morning.
This second disturbance will spread snow to virtually the entire South Coast, with heaviest amounts falling tonight.
Armel Castellan, meteorologist with Environment Canada, says accumulation so far has varied widely, depending on region, elevation, and geography.
Here's a list of how much snow fell around the island on Sunday:
Temperatures are expected to start climbing mid-week.
Armel says in the wake of warmer than usual December and January temperatures, the remainder of February will continue to be colder than average.